1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a four-wheeled utility vehicle and, more particularly, to a four-wheeled utility vehicle having a cab provided with an assist grip, suitable for carrying cargoes in outdoor spaces or in wide indoor spaces, and provided with a cabin frame surrounding a driver""s seat and a passenger seat and defining front and side openings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) showing a prior art four-wheeled utility vehicle 100 disclosed in JP-U No. Sho 63-202579, the four-wheeled utility vehicle 100 has a body frame 101 of a metal, our wheels, i.e., two front wheels 102 and two rear wheels 103 suspended from the body frame 101, a driving unit, not shown, such as an engine, mounted on the body frame 101, a seat 104, i.e., a driver""s seat and a passenger seat, load-carrying platform 105 and a steering wheel 108. The four-wheeled utility vehicle 100 is often provided with wide tires suitable for traveling on rough roads.
A cabin frame 106 is disposed in front of the load-carrying platform 105 so as to cover the front, rear, right and left sides of the seats 104.
The cabin frame 106 protects the driver and the passengers A roof or a canvas hood, not shown, can be attached to the cabin frame 106 to screen the seat 104 from rain and sunshine, and lighting devices 107 can be attached to the cabin frame 106 for illumination to facilitate night work.
When traveling in the four-wheeled utility vehicle 100 provided with the cabin frame 106, the driver seated on the driver""s seat can remain seated stably on the driver""s seat during travel on a rough road because the driver is able to hold on to the steering wheel 108. However, the four-wheeled utility vehicle is not provided with any thing like the steering wheel 108 that can be grasped by the passenger seated on the passenger seat. Therefore, the passenger seated on the passenger seat holds the passenger""s body on the passenger seat by grasping a part of the cabin frame 106 or a guardrail disposed beside the passenger seat to remain securely seated on the passenger seat while the four-wheeled utility vehicle is traveling on a rough road. For example, a passenger 109 seated on the passenger seat grasps a horizontal upper member 106a of the cabin frame 106 by his hand 109a as shown in FIG. 8.
However, the passenger 109 needs to stretch out his hand 109a upward to grasp the upper member 106a and it is difficult for the passenger 109 seated on the passenger seat in a natural position to reach for the upper member 106a. The upper member 106a is one of the members of the cabin frame 106 and is usually a steel pipe of a large diameter. Therefore the upper member 106a is difficult to grasp. The guardrail 110 disposed beside the passenger seat is not necessarily positioned properly for grasping and is difficult for the passenger seated on the passenger seat in a natural position to grasp the guardrail 110.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing problems and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a four-wheeled utility vehicle provided with an assist grip that can be securely grasped by a passenger seated in a natural position on a passenger seat.
To achieve the object, a four-wheeled utility vehicle comprising: a seat including a driver""s seat and a passenger seat; a load-carrying platform behind said seat; a cabin frame surrounding said seat and having open front and open lateral side; wherein the cabin frame is foxed by assembling pipes and has a front frame member set in front of the seat, having front side parts extending substantially vertically on right and left sides in front of the passenger cab, a rear frame member set behind the passenger cab and having rear side parts extending substantially vertically on right and left sides behind the seat, and an upper frame member interconnecting respective upper ends of the front and the rear frame member and an assist grip coated with an elastic coating member is attached to an upper part of the front side part on the side of the passenger seat of the front frame member so as to protrude toward a passenger seated on the passenger seat such that the passenger seated on the passenger seat is able to grasp the assist grip. The elastic coating member may be formed of rubber, a resin, sponge or the like.
The four-wheeled utility vehicle of the present invention has the assist grip attached to the upper part of the front side part of the front frame member of the cabin frame. Therefore, the passenger seated on the passenger seat is able to grasp the assist grip to remain securely seated on the passenger seat. The assist grip can be simply attached to the upper part of the substantially vertical front side part on the side of the passenger seat of the front frame member, the passenger does not need to stretch out his hand with an effort and the passenger seated in a natural position on the passenger seat is able to grasp the assist grip easily.
The elastic coating member coating the assist grip deforms elastically so as to conform to the size of the passenger""s hand seated on the passenger seat and the passenger""s manner of grasping, so that the passenger seated in a natural position on the passenger seat is able to have a firm grasp of the assist grip, to have a sensation of a firm grip and to feel stable.
Since the assist grip protrudes toward the passenger seat, the passenger seated on the passenger seat in a natural sitting position is able to grasp the assist grip. Thus, the passenger seated on the passenger seat is able to grasp the assist grip without making any physical effort and hence the passenger will not feel physical fatigue even it the passenger is seated on the passenger seat for a long time.
Desirably, the assist grip is attached detachably to the front frame section.
When the assist grip can be detachably attached to the front frame section, the assist grip and the cabin frame can be separately fabricated and the assist grip can be formed in a special shape conforming to the build of the passenger. The removal of the assist grip from the front frame section facilitates work for repairing or replacing the elastic coating member.
Preferably, the assist grip includes a core pipe of a metal having a main part and side parts extending from the opposite ends of the main part, respectively, at a fixed angle to the main part, and an elastic coating member coating at least the main part of the core pipe, a pair of brackets are fixed to the front side part of the front frame member of the cabin frame, and the side parts of the core pipe are fastened to the brackets with screws. In the foregoing description, xe2x80x9ccoating at least the main partxe2x80x9d signifies a state where the elastic coating member coats at least the main part to be grasped by the passenger and may coat the main part and the side parts.
Thus, the assist grip has the rigid core pipe of a metal and the elastic coating member coating the core pipe and the side parts of the core pipe extending from the opposite ends of the main part at the fixed angle to the main part and fastened with screws to the brackets attached to the cabin frame. The passenger seated on the passenger seat is able to have a firm, secure grip of the assist grip. Since the core pipe and the elastic coating member are made separately and are combined, the assist grip can be easily manufactured. Since the assist grip is fastened to the brackets with the screws, the assist grip can be easily removed from the cabin frame.